Laughter
by ellacj
Summary: Emma has never heard Regina really laugh - and soon she finds out why. Just a fluffy sq oneshot for y'all (:


Emma curled up closer to Regina, feeling her girlfriend's arm wrap around her and hold her tightly. Regina was engrossed in the movie, but Emma wasn't paying attention to the TV screen. She was looking at Regina. She craned her neck up and planted a light kiss on Regina's cheek, grinning at the brunette's blush and the way the grip on her shoulder tightened just the slightest bit.

Regina glanced down at Emma, brushing her lips over the top of Emma's head. "Are you even watching the movie?"

Emma grinned. "Nope."

Regina picked up the remote and switched the TV off. Emma pressed her lips in small kisses up Regina's neck until she finally enveloped her girlfriend in a deep, passionate kiss. "I love you," Regina murmured against Emma's lips.

"I love when you don't talk while we're kissing," Emma teased, gently nibbling on Regina's lower lip.

Regina chuckled lightly, and Emma pulled away and sat back. "How come I've never heard you laugh?"

"What? You just did. Like eight seconds ago."

"I mean really _laugh_," Emma said. "All you ever do is polite little giggles. How come you never let loose and just laugh?"

Regina blushed. "I don't really like my laugh."

Emma leaned closer. "Come on. I'm sure it's adorable."

Regina shook her head. "But where were we?" She crept forward and kissed Emma again, tangling her fingers in her hair.

Emma made a mental note to make Regina truly laugh sometime before she let her thoughts escape her and get lost in the moment.

Her plan was hatched two weeks later, when they were making dinner. Regina was tending to the meat in the pan and Emma was chopping tomatoes across the kitchen.

"How's the beef coming?" Emma asked.

"It should be ready in about five."

"Sweet. Shit," she hissed as she nicked herself with the knife. She put the cut in her mouth as Regina came over to make sure she was all right.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a little cut. A band-aid might help though."

"I'll go get one. Make sure the meat doesn't burn the house down, okay?" Regina left the kitchen to find the first-aid kit. Emma wiped her thumb on her jeans as she watched the meat and waited for Regina to get back. She glanced at the recipe on Regina's laptop, and saw a minimized window. She remembered Regina always closing something whenever Emma came over. Now that she was out, it was the perfect time for Emma to look.

She glanced around once before she clicked on the window on the bottom of the screen. It was a photo album entitled "Work Things." But as she scrolled through the photos, Emma saw that it was not work things. Each photo contained a different pun. "What's Michelle Obama's favorite vegetable? Barackoli." "Bird jokes quack me up." "Why does Anakin hate the stairs? He'd rather take the elevader." Emma grinned, a plan forming in her mind. She minimized the window and stepped away from the computer as she heard footsteps returning to the kitchen.

"Here, put some of this on it," Regina said as she came back into the kitchen, holding out a spray bottle of medicine.

Emma gritted her teeth as the medicine made contact with the cut. "Stings like a bitch," she muttered.

Regina kissed her thumb gently as she wrapped the band-aid around it. "Better?"

"Lucky I have someone to kiss my boo-boos for me," Emma joked, pressing a kiss on Regina's forehead. "Now hurry before dinner burns."

After dinner, Emma put Henry to bed and climbed into bed herself beside Regina. She leaned over to the brunette, who was reading her book, and whispered in her ear. "I know your weakness," she said in a sing-song voice. "I'm gonna make you laugh."

Regina raised one eyebrow. "Are you still on that?"

Emma grinned. "How did Barack propose to Michelle?" She paused. "He said 'I don't wanna be obamaself.'" She giggled, satisfied at the way Regina hid her mouth behind her hand and her body shook with laughter. "What do you call a pretentious criminal walking down stairs? A condescending con descending."

Regina's hand was pressed tightly against her mouth, eyes squeezed shut with laughter, but no sound escaped.

Emma leaned close enough so that her breast rested against Regina's shoulder. "How many ears does Captain Kirk have? Three. The left ear, the right ear, and the _final front ear_."

That broke her. Regina burst into laughter, loud and happy. Suddenly, a massive snort escaped from her and she clapped a hand over her face in horror.

"That's it?" Emma said incredulously. "You have a _snort laugh_?"

"I told you it was awful!"

Emma smiled, gently kissing Regina's cheek. "I think it's adorable. It makes you seem less… rigid like you like to be all the time."

Regina leaned her head on Emma's shoulder. "How did I get so lucky?" she murmured. She brushed her lips over Emma's bare shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too."


End file.
